|
LOUISVILLE /JEFFERSON COUNTY
DEMOCRATIC PARTY NEWSLETTER
Week of April 29, 2007
The link to this electronic newsletter is being e-mailed to 4,000+
Jefferson County Democrats
We hope you will forward the link to your own e-mail list.
***********************************
CLICK HERE FOR CURRENT LIST OF EVENTS
Updated on a regular basis
Bulletin Board:
The Louisville/Jefferson County Democratic Executive Committee meets the 4th Wednesday of every month at 5:00 pm at 901 Barret Avenue .
Notice to our Readers & 2007 Primary Election Candidates:
This newsletter will carry in this space any Democratic candidates' notice of events or communications (250 words or less) to our readers that the candidate provides to the editor at rcrider@louisvilledem.com
Democratic candidates who want pictures of their fund raisers, activities, events, etc to be posted on this website, e-mail them to rcrider@louisvilledem.com.
HELP WANTED!!
********************************
*********************************
Committee's First Investigative Hearing Since 1994 to Focus on "Kentucky: An Example of Mismanagement"
Yarmuth Investigates Reading First, "The Enron of Education"
Thirteen years after the House Committee on Education and Labor conducted its last investigative hearing, Congressman John Yarmuth (KY-3) and the committee convened today to investigate the conflicts of interests in the Reading First program, now considered "the Enron of Education." The committee focused specifically on Kentucky's inability to secure grants in 2002 because the state refused to switch from its proven assessment tool to the one advocated by the Department of Education-a computer program with which the department has at least one apparent conflict of interest.
"Kentucky
education system was held ransom for an entire year so that some
unscrupulous bureaucrats could line their pockets," Congressman Yarmuth said
following the hearing. "This education profiteering, in which our students
were made to suffer, has no place in our government, and it certainly has no
place in Kentucky."
Despite assembling a top notch proposal, the Kentucky Department of Education was denied Reading First funding three times in 2002. Starr Lewis, Kentucky's Associate Commissioner of Education and a Louisvillian, testified that the program director for Reading First, Christopher Doherty bullied the state into buying DIBELS, a brand of assessment software that would have been redundant in Kentucky due to an exemplary assessment system already in place.
After the third rejection, Lewis wrote to Doherty explaining her position and defending their software. Doherty never replied, but in the fourth attempt to secure funding, Lewis dropped the established assessment program for DIBELS and was finally approved after losing out on funding for the 2002 cycle.
It was subsequently discovered that board members, technical advisers, and even Doherty himself had personal financial interests in the software they were recommending to states. Each time Reading First granted funding to a state that utilized DIBELS, certain grantors stood to gain financially. One Reading First technical advisor who doubled as an licensed DIBELS trainer, Joe Dimino, made $15,000 from DIBELS training since the implementation of Reading First.
Doherty admitted to Congressman Yarmuth today that, "We obviously didn't do a very good job of keeping the perceptions of conflicts of interest from taking root."
Reading First is a $1 billion dollar annual program that focuses on literacy for children in kindergarten through third grade. Although it was celebrated at its inception, in practice, the program has been mired in scandal throughout its five year history.
Congressman Yarmuth, who will soon introduce his own literacy legislation, said that he drew lessons from the hearing on how to ensure that his bill, the Striving Readers Act, is implemented fairly and effectively. The Striving Readers Act will monitor conflicts of interest more closely and give the states more control.
**********************************************
Luallen addresses the Rotary Club,
By FRANK BOYETT, , Gleaner staff
The state auditor's office is not solely about saying "gotcha," State Auditor Crit Luallen told the Henderson Rotary Club Thursday.
"People were a lot more glad to see me when I had those jobs where I handed out money," she said. "Now that I'm an auditor, and I come to see the local officials, they're not quite as glad to see me.
"One
of my goals is to not just be an office that was about finding wrong-doing
and saying 'gotcha.' That's pretty easy to do if you're an auditor. You can
always find somebody making a mistake."
But she pointed out plenty of mistakes have been found. Just a few years ago, for instance, her office uncovered the embezzlement of more than $900,000 of utility payments by former Providence City Clerk Sara Stevens, who is awaiting sentencing June 1.
"The conditions can be very tense for our auditors," she said. "Most of our county officials are very hard-working folks trying to do the right thing. But too often we're finding these cases of fraud and corruption that can create very tense working conditions.
"In the last year we started to have state police protection in some counties for our auditors because of the tense working environment. Our staff has been harassed and threatened and followed because we're going after wrong-doing so aggressively.
"Our office completed one audit last year where we had to move our staff and all our documents into a jail cell because it was the most secure place in the county -- to make sure the documents didn't disappear or get altered after we left at night. That's a true story; we had round-the-clock police protection.
"Now that's not the norm, but I just want to point out the important role the auditor plays as the watchdog of public dollars."
But perhaps more important, she said, is the role the office plays in finding ways government can work more efficiently. Her office has issued reports on such things as education, jails, prescription drugs and contracting policies, she said, recommending ways to save money and offer better service.
She also suggested a three-pronged test citizens can use to ensure they get better government. When choosing a candidate to vote for, she said, they should question whether the would-be leader has integrity, competence and vision.
"Integrity has to be more than the absence of scandal; that's a pretty low bar," she said. "It is a willingness to be honest and realistic about Kentucky's problems and what it will take to solve them."
Luallen is running for a second term as auditor, facing Republican Linda Greenwell of Taylorsville in the Nov. 6 election.
*********************************************
Northwest Execs Gain from Employees’ Pain, by James Parks
Flight attendants and pilots at Northwest Airlines (NWA) and machinists are livid over a decision by the carrier’s top executives to reward themselves with nearly $400 million in bonuses after the company emerges from bankruptcy. While Northwest executives get bonuses, the employees whose wage and benefit concessions and hard work brought the company back from the brink of collapse are being left out in the cold.
Today, at the Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, members of the Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA-CWA), the Air Line Pilots (ALPA) and the Machinists (IAM) will hold an informational picket and rally to highlight the need for fair and equitable treatment of Northwest employees.
Northwest Airlines declared bankruptcy Sept. 15, 2005, just days before new laws passed by Congress limiting executive compensation and bonuses in corporate bankruptcies took effect. The airline’s reorganization plan includes an executive stock plan that would award the top 400 executives as much as $995,000 each—a total of about $382 million.
For many corporations, bankruptcy no longer is a sign of a failed business. In fact, corporations are filing for bankruptcy not as a last resort, but as a business strategy to make more money—jettisoning pension plans on their way to Chapter 11 and throwing off long-term commitments they made to America’s working families.
Last
year, Northwest pilots agreed to give up $358 million annually
(including a 23.9 percent pay cut) during the next five years to help the
company avoid liquidation. This sacrifice was in addition to the $265
million (including a 15 percent pay cut) annual wage concession Northwest
pilots gave in December 2004. Altogether, Northwest pilots gave up a
whopping $4 billion through 2011.
Meanwhile, the same executives who are looking to gain nearly $1 million each, cut Northwest flight attendants’ pay and benefits by 40 percent in 2006 and imposed draconian work rules. On top of cuts in pay, Northwest flight attendants also are working 20 percent more with minimum rest and no food.
“Our pay cuts are being converted into increased compensation for NWA executives,” said Capt. Dave Stevens, chairman of ALPA’s Northwest Airlines unit.
It is unconscionable to use employees’ pay cuts to provide huge bonuses to the same executive team that led our company into bankruptcy. Northwest executives will profit while the employees who suffered the most by having our pay, work rules, benefits, and retirement slashed will receive pennies.
Jay Hong, president of AFA-CWA’s Northwest Master Executive Council, says the airline is $800 million ahead of its recovery plan, “but they refuse to offer their own employees and their families and communities relief.”
Instead, they want our pain to be the gain for 400 Northwest executives. Workers at Northwest Airlines are joining each other to say that it can’t continue this way; enough is enough. It’s time for Northwest to negotiate a fair, consensual agreement with the flight attendants that fully recognizes our role and our value as safety and security professionals.”
After Northwest flight attendants twice voted down a concession-loaded contract, the company last July imposed a new contract and work rules. The flight attendants have asked the National Mediation Board to release them from mediation and to offer binding arbitration to the parties.
Nothing this week
*******************************************
DAILY GRILL
"The President has full
confidence in Paul Wolfowitz." -- White House spokeswoman Dana Perino,
4/13/07
VERSUS
"He has lost the trust and respect of bank staff at all levels, provoked a
rift among senior managers, developed tense relations with the board,
damaged his own credibility on good governance. ... There is only one way
for Wolfowitz to further the mission of the bank: he should resign." -- Open
letter from 42 senior World Bank executives,
4/22/07
***************************
"I think it's
unfortunate that people who have an impassioned view about a topic don't
take the time to afford the President the same respect that they are asking
for. The President's record on climate change is very strong." -- White
House spokeswoman Dana Perino,
4/24/07
VERSUS
"There is a debate over whether it's [global warming] manmade or naturally
caused."
-- President Bush,
6/26/06, ignoring
scientific consensus that global warming is manmade
*********************************
"Yesterday, Senator Reid said the troop surge was
against the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group. That is plainly false.
The Iraq Study Group report was explicitly
favorable toward a troop surge to secure Baghdad." -- Vice President Cheney,
4/24/07
VERSUS
"Sustained increases in U.S. troop levels would not solve the fundamental
cause of violence in Iraq."
-- Iraq Study Group report,
p. 30
*******************************
"The Congress does not
have oversight over the White House." -- White House spokeswoman Dana Perino,
3/26/07
VERSUS
"We understand that the Congress has a role to play, which is oversight over
the executive branch." -- Perino,
4/25/07
****************************************************
Quotes of the Day
"It became mainstream, it became sexy, attractive. And this is exactly what has to happen with the environmental movement. Like bodybuilders, the environmentalists were thought of as kind of weird fanatics also. You know the kind of serious tree huggers. Environmentalists were no fun. They were like prohibitionists at the fraternity party." --California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
There are "problems" in Sen. Lisa Murkowski's (R-AK) office, according to an internal memo sent to staff. The biggest one: "[I]f you have a long magazine-reading bathroom trip planned (and you know what I mean), please go to the public restrooms. We don't want to subject our staff or constituents to any fowl (sic) smelling odors while they are in the office."
Recent Senate Votes
-
Cloture Motion, Medicare Prescription Drug Price Negotiation Act
- Vote Rejected (55-42, 3 Not Voting)
The Senate rejected this motion to take up a bill that would have allowed the federal government to negotiate Medicare prescription drug prices with pharmaceutical companies.
Sen. Mitch McConnell voted NO - Sen. Jim Bunning voted NO
Recent House Votes
-
District of Columbia House Voting Rights Act - Vote Passed
(241-177, 1 Present, 14 Not Voting)
This bill would increase the size of the U.S. House of Representatives to 437 by granting the District of Columbia a full vote in the chamber and adding another seat in Utah.
Rep. John Yarmuth voted YES - Rep. Ron Lewis voted NO
- Water
Resources Development Act - Vote Passed (394-25, 14 Not
Voting)
The House passed this $15 billion bill funding improvements to the nation's waterways.
Rep. John Yarmuth voted YES - Rep. Ron Lewis voted YES
- Shareholder
Vote on Executive Compensation Act - Vote Passed
(269-134, 30 Not Voting)
The House voted to give shareholders in public companies a nonbinding vote on executive compensation.
Rep. John Yarmuth voted YES - Rep. Ron Lewis voted NO
HUMOR
It’s Howdy Doody Time, Youtube Video, Made Especially For Mitch McConnell
"I got myself a new computer this week. I got the Alberto Gonzales Dell computer. Have you seen this one? It destroys your e-mails and has no memory." --Jay Leno
"Almost everybody in Washington is still calling for Gonzales to resign. President Bush said Gonzales' testimony last week increased his confidence in him. Bush said he had no idea Gonzales could lie like that." --Jay Leno
"Presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich introduced articles of impeachment against Vice President Dick Cheney. Do you know what would happen if Cheney was impeached? George Bush would become acting president." --Jay Leno
"Senate Majority Harry Reid says his fellow Democrats in Congress will pass a bill to start pulling our troops out of Iraq on October 1st. He said October 1st is the day, but Reid says he won't say what time of day because he doesn't want to tip off al Qaeda." --Jay Leno
"In a speech in New York City, Hillary Clinton said when she gets to the White House in 2009 ... she's afraid to see what's she going to find underneath the rug in the Oval Office. You know, I don't think the Clintons are the best people to talk about the rug in the Oval Office." --Jay Leno
"The former president of Russia, Boris 'buy me a drink' Yeltsin, has passed away. He left behind a bar tab of $3.2 billion." --Jay Leno
"There was a prison riot in Indianapolis today. Over 35 former congressmen were involved." --Jay Leno
"Are you folks excited about the 2008 presidential campaign? ... Hillary Clinton says that if she's elected, she will name her husband Bill Clinton a roving ambassador to the world. ... Hmmm. Let me think about this. Bill Clinton traveling around the world without his wife? No, I can't see anything going wrong there." --David Letterman
"President Bush was in town. ... He attended a big fundraiser on Park Avenue. It's part of his program 'No Cash Left Behind'" --David Letterman
"Earlier today, President Bush met with the president of Peru. When the Peruvian president invited Bush to visit Machu Picchu, Bush said, 'Great, I love Pokemon.'" --Conan O'Brien
"Bill Clinton announced he'll be flying to Russia to attend the funeral of former president of Russia Boris Yeltsin. At least, that's what he's telling Hillary." --Conan O'Brien
IRAQ -- ROVE: 'I
WISH THE IRAQ WAR NEVER EXISTED'; IT WAS 'OSAMA BIN LADEN'S IDEA':
On a visit to Ohio yesterday, White House senior political adviser Karl Rove
claimed he
never wanted the war in Iraq. "I wish the war were over," Rove said. "I
wish the war never existed. ... History has given us a challenge." History
shows Rove was exceptionally eager in 2002 for the upcoming Iraq war,
anxious to reap what he viewed would be the political gains for
conservatives leading another military conflict. In Jan.
2002,
Rove told conservatives that "Americans trust the Republicans to do a
better job of keeping our communities and our families safe. ... We can also
go to the country on this issue because they trust the Republican Party to
do a better job of protecting and strengthening America's military might and
thereby protecting America." In June 2002, Rove was
giving PowerPoint presentations candidates advising them to "focus on
the war" in their fall campaigns. In Aug. 2002, Rove was chairing the White
House Iraq Group, whose mission was to "develop a strategy for
publicizing the White House's assertion that Saddam Hussein posed a
threat to the United States." In Sept. 2002,
Time reported that when friends asked whether President Bush planned to
invade Iraq, Rove was known to reply, "Let me put it this way: If you want
to see Baghdad, you'd better visit soon." Former White House
counterterrorism director Richard Clarke later wrote that the Iraq "crisis
was manufactured, and Bush political adviser Karl Rove was telling
Republicans to 'run
on the war.'" Rove also claimed yesterday in a question-and answer
period after his speech that
it was Osama bin Laden, not Bush, who decided to launch the Iraq war: "I
think it was Osama bin Laden's [idea]." Rove's comments are part of
re-emerging tactic by the Bush administration to associate the ongoing war
in
Iraq with 9/11. Rove and company appear to have forgotten that Bush said
9/11 had "nothing"
to do with the war in Iraq.
ETHICS -- FBI RAIDS BUSINESS TIED TO ARIZONA CONGRESSMAN RICK RENZI:
Late Thursday night, Roll Call reported that the
FBI had raided a family business tied to Rep. Rick Renzi (R-AZ) earlier
in the day. "Today, the FBI came to my family's business to obtain documents
related to their investigation," Renzi said in a statement. "I view these
actions as the first step in bringing out the truth. Until this matter is
resolved, I will take a leave of absence from the House Intelligence
Committee. I intend to fully cooperate with this investigation."
The business that was targeted is the
Patriot Insurance Agency, which is located in Sonoita, Arizona. Though
details of the inquiries are sparse, the Justice Department "has been
running a two-track investigation into Renzi regarding a land deal, as
well as a piece of legislation he helped steer that may have improperly
benefited a major campaign contributor." The exact land deal and legislation
in question have not been named, but Renzi has faced previous scrutiny for
legislation he sponsored "that
dealt hundreds of millions of dollars to his father's business while,
according to environmentalists, devastating the San Pedro River." Renzi's
promotion of
an Oct. 2005 land deal that netted former business partner James Sandlin
$4.5 million has also raised questions. The Arizona investigations into
Renzi were spearheaded by former U.S. attorney Paul Charlton, who was among
the eight U.S. attorneys forced to resign last year. Some critics have
suggested that the Renzi investigation
may have been a factor in Charlton's dismissal, though Attorney General
Alberto Gonzales
denied the charge in testimony before Congress yesterday.
MILITARY -- PENTAGON CONFIRMS BUSH IS HYPING FALSE IRAQ DEADLINE:
Yesterday, the
AP put out a report confirming that President Bush has been
hyping a false Iraq spending deadline. For weeks, Bush has been trying
to force Congress to abandon its support for an Iraq withdrawal timeline by
claiming that a "clean" Iraq spending bill must be signed
by mid-April or U.S. troops will suffer. The nonpartisan Congressional
Research Service (CRS) released a report showing that the Army actually has
enough money in its existing budget to
operate through June. The Bush administration and its conservative
allies disputed the CRS's findings. But now, the CRS numbers have been
confirmed by the Pentagon. "The Pentagon says it has enough money to pay for the Iraq war
through June, despite warnings from the White House that
troops are being harmed by Congress' failure to quickly deliver more funds,"
according to the AP's report. "The Army is taking a series of 'prudent
measures' aimed at making sure delays in the bill financing the war do not
harm troop readiness, according to instructions sent to Army commanders and
budget officials April 14."
RADICAL RIGHT --
GINGRICH BLAMES VIRGINIA TECH TRAGEDY ON 'LIBERALISM': Appearing on ABC's This Week yesterday, former Speaker of the House
Newt Gingrich (R-GA)
blamed the Virginia Tech tragedy on "liberalism" and the "culture" it
has "created." In the wake of the 1999 shootings at Columbine High School in
Littleton, CO, Gingrich made a speech in which he said, "I want to say to
the elite of this country --
the elite news media, the liberal academic elite, the liberal political
elite: I accuse you in Littleton...of being afraid to talk about the
mess you have made, and being afraid to take responsibility for the things
you have done, and instead foisting upon the rest of us pathetic banalities
because you don't have to courage to look at the world you have
created." Asked by host George Stephanopoulos if he would apply those same
words to the Virginia Tech tragedy, Gingrich said "yes," before launching
into a ramble attempting to connect Virginia Tech to Don Imus and
McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform. Gingrich has repeatedly spun
tragedy for ideological and partisan gain. In 1994, after Susan Smith
confessed to drowning her two children, Gingrich quickly blamed liberals,
saying the only way to avoid similar future incidents was "to
vote Republican." After former Rep. Mark Foley (R-FL) was forced to
resign over his sexually inappropriate behavior towards House pages,
Gingrich declared on Fox News that conservatives didn't stop Foley because
they "would
have been accused of gay bashing" by liberals. At the Conservative
Political Action Conference earlier this year, Gingrich blamed the residents
of New Orleans's 9th ward for "a
failure of citizenship" -- by being so uneducated and so unprepared,
they literally couldn't get out of the way of a hurricane."
ETHICS -- FORMER ALLIES URGE WOLFOWITZ'S RESIGNATION: Embattled World
Bank President Paul Wolfowitz is quickly losing support from former allies
as the scandal surrounding his promotion of his girlfriend, Shaha Riza,
escalates. Last week, a group of 42 former senior World Bank executives
wrote a letter to the Financial Times asserting that Wolfowitz "has
lost the trust and respect of bank staff at all levels, provoked a rift
among senior managers, developed tense relations with the board, damaged
his own credibility on good governance, and alienated some key
shareholders. ... We believe that he can no longer be an effective leader," the executives wrote. In a "searing
indictment" of Wolfowitz, the Independent Evaluation Group, an
independent agency assessing the bank's effectiveness, also urged
Wolfowitz's resignation, as "the current situation could lead to
'irreparable harm to worldwide efforts in poverty reduction and sustainable
development.'" The controversy surrounding Wolfowitz has not only provoked
criticism from senior executives, but also evoked long-standing discontent
from within the World Bank work force. The World Bank staff association,
which represents the 10,000 employees at the bank, "has pushed hard against
past presidents, but
acrimony has never been so high," as a staff survey indicated
"overwhelming concerns about his conservative politics and role as an
architect of the Iraq war." These bank employees are urging Wolfowitz's
resignation, saying he "had
lost trust and respect" of the employees. Although President Bush
recently expressed "full
confidence" in Wolfowitz, other administration officials are breaking
away. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson recently "urged
the White House to withdraw its backing from the controversial
neoconservative."
ETHICS --
FBI QUESTIONING REP. FEENEY: The FBI is now
looking into Rep. Tom Feeney (R-FL) and "his
dealings with Jack Abramoff as part of its
ongoing investigation into the lobbyist convicted of defrauding clients."
While FBI agents refuse to say whether Feeney is under federal
investigation, they "have asked the St. Petersburg Times for an email sent
to the newspaper by Feeney's office describing a golfing trip the
congressman took with Abramoff to Scotland in 2003." Feeney is one of three
House members who "accompanied Abramoff to Scotland on trips that included
rounds of golf at the legendary Royal & Ancient Golf Club at St. Andrews."
The other two: former Rep. Bob Ney (R-OH), who is serving prison time for
corruption, and former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-FL), currently
under
criminal indictment.
Feeney said in a statement that he "considers this an embarrassing episode
in his 17-year career as an elected official and an expensive lesson for him
as a public servant." But Feeney is also listed as "Representative
#3" in Justice Department documents filed in
federal court yesterday on Mark Zachares, "a former Bush administration
official and House GOP aide who is expected to plead guilty tomorrow on a
federal corruption charge" related to Abramoff.
ETHICS -- MIERS PROPOSED FIRING
U.S. ATTORNEY INVESTIGATING REP. LEWIS: Last
October, former U.S. Attorney Debra Yang abruptly resigned her post in the
middle of her investigation of Rep Jerry Lewis (R-CA) and his "lucrative
ties" to a lobbying firm. While Yang contends that she resigned "for
personal reasons based on financial
concerns and the fact that she is a single mother," America Lawyer found
that she was "lured away by a $1.5 million-plus offer to become a partner at
Gibson, Dunn and Crutcher LLP," which
employs several former Bush administration
officials and is defending Lewis in the Justice Department probe.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) "has repeatedly questioned the circumstances
surrounding Yang's departure" from the Justice Department. "Feinstein said
to reporters on March 20, 'Was she asked to resign, and if so, why? We have
to ferret that out.'" During Attorney General Alberto Gonzales's testimony
last week, Feinstein stated that former White House Counsel Harriet Miers "discussed
whether to remove Deborah Yang from Los Angeles."
Feinstein's accusation is said to be based "on
interviews" and follows her previous concerns that
several other U.S. attorneys were also forced out because of their
involvement with criminal investigations of Republican members of Congress.
Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) said of last week's testimony, "[T]he arrow
points more and more to the White House...in regards to who put together the
list."
ETHICS -- ROVE
INVESTIGATOR BESET WITH ETHICAL PROBLEMS: The head of the
U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC), Scott Bloch, told the Washington Post
and L.A. Times that he is "launching
a broad investigation into key elements of the White House political
operations" led by presidential adviser Karl Rove, and "will examine the
firing of at least one U.S. attorney, missing White House e-mails, and White
House efforts to keep presidential appointees attuned to Republican
political priorities." At issue are potential
violations of the Hatch Act, which prohibits the expenditure of
government resources "on behalf of a political party or cause." While Bloch
promised the investigation would "leave no stone unturned," watchdog groups
including the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW)
have voiced objections, noting that Bloch's involvement in such an
investigation "suggests the possibility that the White House is
orchestrating a cover-up of its illegal and improper activities." Bloch,
who is also charged with "defending the rights of government whistle-blowers
and protecting government employees from discrimination," is
currently under investigation for accusations that his office
"retaliated against employees who took issue with internal policies and
discriminated against employees who were gay or members of religious
minorities." CREW has reported that the investigation into Bloch's conduct
has "been stymied by the fear of OSC staff that speaking to investigators
will result in reprisal." A lawyer for a group of OSC employees "said it was
obvious that Mr. Bloch was trying to use the investigation to
divert attention from his own problems." She added, "Mr. Bloch's
assertions that he would conduct a wide-scale investigation...were not
believable because his office had only limited authority in such matters."
LABOR -- BUSH'S WORKER SAFETY RECORD IS WORST IN HISTORY: The
Occupational Health Safety Administration (OSHA), created under President
Nixon in 1970 to mitigate dangerous
working conditions across the country, has been extremely effective in
reducing deaths and injuries on the job since its inception. But under
President Bush, OSHA's efficacy has been quickly gutted, as he "vowed to
limit new rules and roll back what he considered cumbersome regulations that
imposed unnecessary costs on businesses and consumers," killing "dozens" of
existing regulations and delaying the implementation of others. Bush holds
the dubious distinction of presiding over an OSHA that "has issued the
fewest significant standards in its history, public health experts say. It
has imposed only one major safety rule. The only significant health standard
it issued was ordered by a federal court." The agency's head, Edwin G.
Foulke, Jr., was previously "Republican Party state chairman in South
Carolina and a top political-fundraiser" and also used to advise
corporations on how to bust unions. "Instead of regulations, Mr. Foulke and
top officials at other agencies favor a 'voluntary compliance strategy,'" an
approach which has thus far only covered one percent of the work force.
Bush's neutering of OSHA reflects a broader anti-regulatory strategy that he
has implemented within the federal government. In February, Bush nominated industry
lobbyist Michael Baroody to lead the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
Previously, Baroody worked for the National Association of
Manufacturers, which opposed the reduction of workplace hazards by
"attempting to kill OSHA's ergonomics standard," calling it "unwarranted
litigation."
K STREET CORRUPTION GOES ON: DeLay's infamous pay-to-play system between lobbyists and government officials, the K Street Project, continues to thrive, despite House Minority Leader John Boehner's (R-OH) promise to dismantle it. Although Abramoff is already in prison, his network of government cronies continue to be uncovered. On Apr. 13, the FBI raided Rep. John Doolittle's (R-CA) home as part of its investigation into his and his wife's ties to Abramoff. The lobbyist had hired Mrs. Doolittle's consulting firm and the congressman and his staff repeatedly received gifts in return for pushing Abramoff's interests. Since the raid, Doolittle has given up his seat on the powerful House Appropriations Committee. Kevin Ring, Doolittle's former chief of staff who went to work for Abramoff, also abruptly resigned from his law firm on the day of the Doolittle raid. On Tuesday, the Justice Department convicted the 11th person in the Abramoff investigation. Mark Zachares, former aide to Rep Don Young (R-AK), "pleaded guilty Tuesday to accepting tens of thousands of dollars in gifts" from Abramoff. The court documents contained bad news for Rep. Tom Feeney (R-FL), who is listed as "Representative #3" and now being questioned by FBI officials. Feeney is one of three House members who accompanied Abramoff to lavish golf trips in Scotland."
DESTROYING THE EVIDENCE: Part of the reason investigations into the administration have been so difficult is because officials have not properly kept records of their communications. Roughly 50 White House officials use political e-mail accounts to avoid the oversight that comes with the White House e-mail system, which archives all messages. For example, Susan Ralston, formerly Karl Rove's executive assistant, urged two lobbyists working for Abramoff to use her Republican National Committee (RNC) e-mail account to avoid "security issues" with the White House e-mail system. The House yesterday approved a subpoena directing the RNC "to produce information about the use of its e-mail accounts by White House officials." Previously, the RNC had resisted providing full records of the e-mail accounts. The Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington also found that the White House has lost over five million e-mails generated between March 2003 and Oct. 2005.
NEED COMPUTER ASSISTANCE??
Democrat Activist Mike Bailey is now providing “Professional Computer Support.” He can be contacted at 502-558-4026, or mikebailey2000@usa.net.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Think Fast
A state lawmaker in Utah "has submitted a resolution equating illegal immigration to 'Satan's plan to destroy the U.S. by stealth invasion' for debate." The resolution refers to a plan by the devil for a "New World Order...as predicted in the Scriptures." State Senate Majority Leader Curt Bramble (R) said, "I don't think you'll find much support for that sentiment."
Several retired generals endorsed Congress's Iraq withdrawal legislation yesterday. Maj. Gen. John Batiste called it "important legislation [that] sets a new direction in Iraq," while Lt. Gen. William Odom said it will "re-orient US strategy to achieve regional stability, and win help from many other countries -- the only way peace will eventually be achieved."
"Embattled Attorney General Alberto Gonzales will return to Capitol Hill on Wednesday, this time to meet" with Sen. Mark Pryor (D-AR), "who recently called for the attorney general's resignation, accusing Gonzales of lying to the senator and his constituency in Arkansas."
"After more than a decade of government inaction, gay-rights proponents in Congress have gotten several major bills moving through the Democratic-controlled chambers, a development that could result in the greatest expansion of federal protections for gays and lesbians in US history." The measures include tougher action against both workplace discrimination and hate crimes based on sexual orientation.
"The Iraqi government withheld recent casualty figures from the United Nations, fearing they would be used to present a grim picture of Iraq that would undermine the coalition's security efforts." The United Nations released its own figures, showing that sectarian violence remains high in Baghdad, despite the U.S. escalation strategy.
"After months of furious debate and threats of excommunication by the Catholic Church, Mexico City's legislative assembly on Tuesday overwhelmingly voted to legalize abortion for the first time in the capital's history."
President Bush said that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice might have one-on-one talks with Iranian leaders at an international conference on Iraq next month. "What I'm not willing to do is sit down bilaterally with the Iranians," he said in an interview. Later, he said Rice and Iran's foreign minister might have bilateral conversations. "They could. They could," Bush said.
Newly-appointed Defense Undersecretary James Clapper Jr. "is moving to end the controversial Talon electronic data program," which "collected and circulated unverified reports" about alleged threats, including data on "anti-military protesters and peaceful demonstrators."
An "obscure federal investigative unit known as the Office of Special Counsel" is launching a broad investigation into key elements of the White House political operation that "for more than six years have been headed by chief strategist Karl Rove." The administration-led inquiry will be a unified investigation covering many facets of Rove's operations. "We will take the evidence where it leads us," said Scott J. Bloch, a Bush appointee who heads the Office of Special Counsel. "We will not leave any stone unturned."
U.S. Central Command has retired the phrase "the long war" to describe the struggle against global extremists, after cultural advisers became concerned that the concept "alienated Middle East audiences by suggesting that the United States would keep a large number of forces in the region indefinitely."
"World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz met yesterday with senior managers to promise unspecified changes in his leadership and to appeal for their help." "He is not going to resign," his lawyer said. "His mood is just fine. ... He feels people are trying to interfere with his job to get at world poverty."
Gov. Eliot Spitzer (D-NY) "will soon introduce a bill to legalize same-sex marriage -- what he calls 'a simple moral imperative,'" becoming "the first governor in the nation to introduce a gay marriage bill."
The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee will conduct a hearing today into misleading information from the battlefield. The hearing will focus on the death of Army Ranger Specialist Patrick Tillman in Afghanistan and the capture and rescue of Army Private Jessica Lynch in Iraq, and question why inaccurate accounts of these two incidents were disseminated.
In an interview with the Washington Post, Rep. David Hobson (R-OH), who recently went on a congressional trip to Syria, confirmed that he never received any of the attacks House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) did. He noted that "none of his Republican colleagues broached the subject." "Nobody ever called me to say, 'Why are you going to Syria with those people?'"
"Despite President Bush's vow that all Americans would have access to high-speed Internet service by 2007," a new study suggests the United States is continuing to fall behind other developed countries in broadband subscriptions."
"The map of Greenland will have to be redrawn. A new island has appeared off its coast, suddenly separated from the mainland by the melting of Greenland's enormous ice sheet, a development that is being seen as the most alarming sign of global warming."
Voters in Florida may now be going to the polls...to not vote. State Sen. Mike Bennett (R) has introduced a bill to "require ballots to have the additional option of 'I choose not to vote.'" Bennett notes that some races are so nasty that voters don't want to choose any candidate, and his bill would "enable uninformed or disgusted voters to opt out."
"In more than five hours of often-combative testimony" yesterday, Alberto Gonzales, "grim-faced, clasping his hands and hunched over, struggled to offer a coherent explanation for the dismissals" of eight U.S. Attorneys. He "appeared frustrated, weary and at times combative," and "angered" committee members "as he invoked a faulty memory more than 50 times."
The U.S. military is constructing a 3-mile-long concrete wall in Baghdad "to cut off one of the capital's most restive Sunni Arab districts from the Shiite Muslim neighborhoods that surround it, raising concern about the further Balkanization of Iraq's most populous and violent city."
"A suicide bomber breached Baghdad's heavy security presence again Thursday, killing a dozen people in a mostly Shiite district a day after more than 230 people died in one of the Iraq war's deadliest episodes of violence."
A new national poll shows "a third of Americans say global warming ranks as the world's single largest env